Metro Briefs August 1

Rabbi Mendy Rosenblum, director of Chabad of the South Hills, will lecture in Squirrel Hill Thursday, Aug. 8, at 8 p.m. Rosenblum will speak about the Jewish perspective on facing modern challenges. The lecture will take place at Chabad of Pittsburgh, 6401 Forbes Ave. Contact info@chabadpgh.com or call 412-421-3561 for more information.

A Pittsburgh family with six children was part of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s first-ever “Children’s Aliya Flight” to Israel last week.

Chaim Judelman, 37, his wife, Shoshana, 40, and their children, Chana, 1, Shaina, 4, Pinchas, 6, Miriam, 7, Tzipporah, 9, and Yisroel, 12, are moving to Efrat, where they will make their new home.

In all, 231 North American olim (new immigrants), including 41 families and a record number of 106 children (56 girls 50 boys), were on the flight.

“I am so excited about the prospect of my kids growing up in Israel,” Shoshana Judelman said in a prepared statement. “My husband, Chaim, and I grew up singing songs about Israel, learning about Israel and visiting when we could. Now our kids will live there — go to school there, speak Hebrew (hopefully), and be surrounded by Jewish history and culture. Living a full Jewish life in the only Jewish country in the whole world — it’s a dream come true.”

Nefesh B’Nefesh works with the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel to revitalize aliya from North America and the United Kingdom by removing or minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles of aliya.

The 11-year-old organization expects 989 kids from the United States and Canada to make aliya in 2013 — a 20 percent increase over the previous year, when 822 children made aliya.

Last week’s flight was facilitated in cooperation with Israel’s Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Jewish Agency for Israel and Keren Kayemeth L’Israel and Jewish National Fund.

The Center for Women, a collaborative initiative of the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and Jewish Women’s Foundation of Greater Pittsburgh (JWF), will hold its first program Monday, Aug. 5, 7 to 8:30 p.m., and Tuesday, Aug. 6, 9 to 10:30 a.m., at its office, located at 1620 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill.

The program, titled “Financial Fitness: An Introduction and Roundtable Discussion,” is intended to engage women in transition in a discussion around financial education needs. Two sessions will be held to accommodate participants’ schedules.

Program panelists include Fern Schwartz, senior vice president of The Schwartz Group at Merrill Lynch Financial Advisory; and Joan Ellenbogen, CPA and managing partner of Crawford Ellenbogen. Helen Sobehart, executive director of graduate education, academic and student affairs at Point Park University, will be the moderator.

In addition to the workshop format, the panelists will conduct a question-and-answer session with general financial information and will respond to specific questions related to financial education.

The resulting feedback and discussions from attendees will aid the center in preparing a fall course schedule of seminars and workshops addressing concerns and needs related to financial education.

Women of all ages, including female heads of households, women in need, women who are newly divorced, separated or widowed or who are experiencing domestic abuse or have experienced job loss and have a desire to re-enter the job market, are encouraged to attend.

The Center for Women serves Jewish women, as well as all women of all ages throughout the community, in areas related to achieving and maintaining economic independence.

NA’AMAT USA installed Marcia J. Weiss as vice president of programming and education and Debby Firestone as recording secretary at its 41st national convention. Judy Kobell became a member of the national board.

A Pittsburgh Mission to Israel from Nov. 7 to 15 will coincide with the upcoming Jewish Federation of North America’s General Assembly (GA), and culminate with a visit to Pittsburgh’s Partnership2Gether city and region, Karmiel and Misgav.

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